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EPA: Calif failed to spend $455M on water projects

Published On: Apr 19 2013 01:29:31 PM PDT

FRESNO, Calif. -

The state has failed to spend $455 million of federal money meant to improve water infrastructure in the state, while thousands of Californians rely on groundwater laced with nitrates and other contaminants, federal regulators said on Friday.

According to a letter of noncompliance issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the state's Department of Public Health, California failed to spend the money from the Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, the largest unspent sum in the nation.

That sum includes money that has been committed to projects but has not been spent because the projects are not shovel-ready, said Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator for the federal agency. The state also did not accurately account for revenue from ongoing loan repayments into the fund, he said, meaning an additional $260 million is available.

The fund finances drinking water infrastructure improvements, including water treatment infrastructure, pipes and other projects. California gets an estimated $80 million in federal money annually for the fund.

Blumenfeld said loosening the money means more projects would be funded, in particular in smaller communities.

Nitrate contamination of drinking water is a pervasive problem in California's agricultural heartland and will intensify in coming years, according to a University of California, Davis study released last March.

The study - covering the Salinas Valley and Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern counties - found that half of the 2.6 million people in those areas live in communities where raw drinking water sources have registered nitrate levels exceeding the standard.

Many of those communities blend or treat their water, drill a new well or provide another alternative source, passing on the extra costs to ratepayers. But one in 10 people in the study area rely on untreated groundwater that may exceed the nitrate standards. Most are residents of small, poor agricultural communities that cannot afford to treat the water or offer alternatives.

Scientists have linked high levels of nitrates to "blue baby syndrome," reproductive disorders and cancer. Infants who drink water that exceeds the nitrate standard could become seriously ill and die, according the EPA.

Many of the residents whose water is contaminated pay for their own bottled water for drinking and cooking, in addition to paying for the contaminated water.

According to federal regulators, California needs $39 billion in capital improvements through 2026 for water systems to continue providing safe drinking water to the public.

Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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